One Step Closer
by AquilaTempestas
Summary: Tyson and Hilary are happy together thanks to Max's advice, but can he help another friend in need?


Tyson and Hilary are happy together thanks to Max's advice, but can he help another friend in need? Sequel to 'A Friend's Advice'

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The news about Tyson and Hilary becoming an official couple spread across the world of beyblading like a grass fire. Most people were happy, but there were a few people disappointed by the announcement. But their opinion didn't matter anyway – nothing could between the bond Tyson and Hilary had. "It took them ages to realize they were perfect for each other," Max overheard Rei telling Mariah at the juice stand, "If it wasn't for Max, I don't think they'd even be together."

Max grinned to himself like a person who just won the lotto. His advice prompted Hilary to act and she certainly made her move. He spotted her standing near Tyson watching him entertain the crowd with jokes and one liners. His Kai impressions earned the most laughs. Even Kai – one who rarely participated in joking – cracked a smile.

"Emily, aren't you going to join in the fun?" Max asked, glancing sideways at his friend. She didn't reply. Instead, she sat down staring at Michael with a forlorn expression on her face. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, but Max suspected it had something to do with Michael. "What's the matter?"

Emily turned her head sideways suddenly, as if taken by surprise at hearing his voice. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," Max replied.

Silence... then Emily sighed. "He's such a jackass."

Max lifted a brow. "Michael?"

"He cares about nothing, but himself! The other day he came charging into my room to use my mirror just because he smashed his own! He didn't even say hello to me at all, he's so arrogant. I don't understand why Judy appointed him as captain," she said bitterly, glaring at her captain who was currently chatting to Mariam and Julia. "Look at him – he thinks he's hot stuff and those girls are falling for his so-called charm." She rolled her eyes.

Max tried to suppress a burst of laughter, but failed. "Aw Emily, that's so sweet," he mocked.

"This isn't a laughing matter," she snapped.

"For someone who claims to dislike him, you sure talk about him a lot," Max replied, still smiling.

Emily groaned. "That's because he annoys me so much. You're lucky – you don't have to put up with him every single day."

"Oh come on, Emily. You don't have to lie to me."

Emily's eyes narrowed. "I'm not lying – I don't have anything to hide."

"We're all aware of it, Emily... well, at least the other All Stars are. You like him... but you don't to admit it," Max pointed out, nudging Emily gently.

She pulled away quickly, disturbed. "How could I ever like a guy that acts like that?" She turned her attention back to Michael. The captain of the All Stars was currently telling the girls what appeared to be an amusing joke. She felt a rush of anger – jealousy perhaps – flow through her. "Of course he talks to the two prettiest blading girls... he's so shallow."

Max detected a hint of resentment in Emily's tone and felt bad. It was a well known fact Mariam and Julia were the most beautiful girls in the beyblading universe. Their looks were envied by many, in particular by the girls considered less pretty. It made him angry. Looks weren't the most important thing in the world; unfortunately many people thought they were the most important. Some guys refused to look at a girl if she wasn't pretty... but Michael wasn't that shallow, was he?

"He never looks my way unless it's to argue with me," Emily said, shoulders sagging.

"You're looking at it from the wrong angle."

She snorted. "What do you mean?"

"Have you considered he might just be unsure of how to communicate with you and finds arguing easier?" It reminded him a little of the relationship Tyson and Hilary shared. They were always bickering over little things because they didn't know how to communicate with each other without letting their true feelings show. "You don't exactly make it easy for him, Emily. I've seen you two argue – you always provoke him."

"It's hard to control my temper when he does stupid things."

"And arguing with him isn't going to make things any better. You know what he's like – it's easy to get under his skin."

"Well... I don't really care anyway," she stated, crossing her arms over her chest, "he's an obnoxious arrogant jerk and I wish he wasn't on the team."

"You don't mean that, Emily. You're angry and I can understand why."

What he thought was good advice didn't appear to be good to Emily. She jerked her head in his direction, eyes burning like black fire. "What would _you_ know? You don't know what it's like!" she replied, tears threatening to spill. "Do you know what it feels like to be the person always on the bench watching from the sidelines while everyone else is getting involved in the action? I'm often overlooked because I'm the _brainiac_ on the team. The girl with the glasses. The _nerd._ The smart girl ending up with a jock only happens in the movies, not in reality." She stood up abruptly from her chair and ran away leaving Max in silence.

.

Emily's outburst had silenced the crowd. Tyson exchanged worried glances with his girlfriend Hilary who simply shrugged in reply. They watched as Emily bolted towards the indoors, hands covering her face to hide the tears. Hilary was tempted to chase her and lend a comforting hand, but Tyson held her back. "We can't do anything for her, Hil. I know you want to help, but _we_ can't help her."

Hilary nodded. She knew Tyson was right, but she still wanted to help Emily. "I hope she's alright. I wonder what made her explode like that?"

"Must've been something major... you're the only girl I know that is known for her explosive temper."

"Ha ha... very funny, Tyson."

He grinned. "You know you love me."

.

Emily slammed the door behind her, then pressed her back against the hard wood surface, struggling to fight back tears. It was so unlike her to explode like that and she felt embarrassed she had lost her cool in such an ungraceful manner. What would Max think? She had to apologize to him when she had the chance. "Pull yourself together, Emily." Her anger began to fade until the door flew open. Michael. The last person she wanted (and expected) to see. "Get out."

"Em..."

"Don't... don't call me that," she seethed.

"I just came to see how you were that's all, you looked pretty upset."

"Oh... I'm so glad you noticed," she spat, turning around to face him, "finally managed to pull your gaze away from those girls."

He frowned. "Is this what this is about?" A hint of a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Are you jealous?"

"You are..." She threw her hands up in the air, "ridiculous!" She spun around and stormed over to the far wall.

"I didn't realize you cared so much about me," Michael replied, smugness growing in his tone.

Something snapped in Emily. An overwhelming amount of anger flooded her mind. Her body trembled. "Everything has to be about you doesn't it? You don't care about anyone else around you!" she snapped.

Her reaction caught the captain off guard. He looked at her, features knotted in confusion. "What has gotten into you?" He sauntered closer.

The conversation she had with Max earlier came back to her. He was right – she _liked_ Michael, but there was no way in hell she'd ever say that out aloud. Besides, he'd only just laugh at her if he found out the truth. Her feelings for him didn't form until the third world tournament. He was still arrogant and all, but he had stopped making grand entrances like jumping out of planes and such. "You would never understand," she replied, her breathing shallow. Calm yourself, she told herself.

"Try me," Michael said, standing before her. "I'm not a complete moron, you know."

She had to crack a smile at that one. "No, you're an incomplete moron."

"So... what's bothering you?" Could she tell him the truth? Could she be honest with her captain about her feelings? Or would that be taking it too far? Besides, he _was_ team captain after all. She averted her gaze, thinking about her next few words. "Your outburst was over me – I know that much."

She jerked her chin up. "What gave you that conclusion?"

He shrugged. "Well, I did catch you staring at me just before then you bolted. Did I do something wrong?"

Emily took in a deep breath. It was time to stop being afraid. "It's just... you never pay attention to me. The only time we even talk is when we are arguing, that's not healthy for a team," she replied slowly, turning back to face him. "I wish... we could have a civil conversation and treat each other like friends, not like enemies," she added, almost in a whisper.

"Jeez Em... why didn't you mention something earlier?" Michael said, looking somewhat awkward. "I didn't think it affected you that much."

"I felt like a fool for even feeling like this; I didn't want you to think less of me. Can't show any form of weakness in front of my captain, can I?" she said with a forceful laugh.

"It's only a weakness if you perceive it as one."

That was a comment she didn't expect her obnoxious captain to make. "Look... I'm sorry for my outburst. It came out of nowhere. I should probably apologize to Max, he seemed quite shocked." She turned away and tried to make a bolt to the door, but he reached a hand out and grabbed her by the arm. "Michael... let me go."

Blue eyes bore into her own. "Do you like Max?"

"No."

"You two seem pretty comfortable around each other."

"Like you were with those girls?" she retorted.

Michael frowned. "They're just friends, Emily. It's easy to relax around them."

"Oh, so you can't do that around your own teammates?"

"Do you have to make this so difficult?" he replied, almost in a defensive manner.

She tried to pry her arm free, but his grip was firm. "I need to speak to Max. Don't let me waste your time hitting on those girls."

His trademark smirk crossed his face. "You think I was hitting on them?"

"It certainly looked that way from where I was. I wouldn't be surprised anyway. They're both pretty girls and they're both strong bladers. What guy _wouldn't_ be taken away by them?" she replied sarcastically, trying to hide her own feelings of jealousy.

"Would you believe me if I said I wasn't?" Emily didn't respond. "We were talking about you actually."

She lifted a questioning brow. "You were? Bad things I presume."

"No, good things. We were basically saying how you were somewhat similar to Hilary. Smart, headstrong and always looking out for the team." He released his grip. "I'm not going to stop you. If it's Max you want, then go ahead," he added, somewhat dejectedly.

He thought she liked Max? Time to set the record straight. "I don't like Max, Michael. It's _you,_ I want." Wow, that sounded creepy, she scolded herself. "I argued with you because it was the only way I could even talk to you because you would never bother otherwise. You're always so wrapped up in your own world that you ignore those around you unless you want something." Tears started to fall again.

"I didn't..."

"Realize? I know. I feel like a fool – out of all the guys I had to like it had to be one who didn't take any notice!" she snapped. "I turned Kenny down. I turned Max down. All because I thought that one day I'd have a chance... but I guess that's just wishful thinking." She stormed towards the door, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Emily..."

She stopped at the door, hand resting on the knob. "There's nothing else you can say to me that's going to make me feel any different." She sniffed again.

"Hear me out, Emily!"

A part of her wanted to leave the house as quick as possible and leave this stupid party, but the other half wanted her to stay behind and listen to whatever he had to say. She turned around, crossed her arms and glared at him. "Fine."

He moved towards her with great caution, as if worried she was going to attack him with some object. "I honestly never meant to hurt you, Emily and I'm sorry that I have."

"Is this some sort of lame apology because I'm not buying it."

"You want to know why I talk to those girls instead of you? It's not stressful. There's always some sort of tension between you and I and it makes it hard to communicate in a civil manner." Now he stood in front of her. Emily realized just how much taller he was than herself. At least he wasn't at Eddy's height – looking up at Eddy all the time gave her neck cramps. "I'm willing to give it a shot."

"A shot at what?"

"Us."

"What is that meant to mean?" Could he be suggesting...

"You said it yourself. The way we argue, it's not good for the team and it's certainly not good for either of us," he said, gaze fixed on her face. "I'm sure it drives Judy crazy as well."

Well, it might not be an invitation to go out somewhere together, but it was better than nothing. Baby steps first, she told herself. "Alright. What made you decide this?" It wasn't characteristic of Michael to make such a friendly offer, especially not to her. Was there some part – some tiny part – of him that held some sort of positive feeling towards her?

"I want to make it up to you, that's all," he replied, rather quickly.

A smile crossed her face. "We can make this work," she said. In her head she thought, we _will_ make this work.


End file.
